On 5-6 October, a team of Council of Europe experts carried out a support and follow-up visit to Bratislava to further the implementation of the European Sports Charter (ESC) within Slovak legislation and policies. The ESC is the Council of Europe standard which lays down the basic principles for national sports policies, allowing governments to support and provide opportunities for the practice of sport for all under well-defined conditions.

The team met with the key stakeholders playing an active role in the implementation of a values-based sport in the Slovak Republic, including Minister of Education, Science, Research and Sport Daniel Bútora and Director General for Sport Peter Dedík, as well as representatives from the sports movement including the Olympic and Paralympic Committees, non-organised sport, athletes, the media and others.

This visit was part of the mandate of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS), where each year it supports the implementation of the ESC among its member states.

The team consisted of Alexandre Husting (Luxemburg), Chair of the EPAS Governing Board, Benthe Tanghe (Netherlands), member of the EPAS Governing Board, James Ogilvie (UEFA), member of the EPAS Consultative Committee, and one member of the Secretariat.

The findings, recommendations and good practices identified during the visit will be gathered in a report to be transmitted to the Slovak authorities for the implementation of its tailored recommendations. The adopted report will be made available to the public in 2024 on our website.